When Black Petals Fall
by Esthern' EraguardiansofChaos
Summary: It was a game like they'd never experienced. But this time it wasn't a duel...and the Heart of the Cards wasn't going to save them this time.
1. Remembering the Legacy

Hello Readers, new and old...I extend my welcome! And my gratitude to the old. I figured I might as well keep you in suspense a little longer and some things have changed. I'm very surprised at myself to tell the truth. Oh well! I'm already working on the second chapter.

Enjoy the revised version of Black and White Roses!

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When Black Petals Fall

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Chapter 1

Remembering the Legacy

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"Why are we here?" Bakura asked quietly, his fists clenched at his sides, face turned down. No one could see his face as it was completely hidden by the mane of hair covering his face, but everyone could tell that it was a mix of being pained and furious. So when the group glanced at Bakura's shaking figure, they knew why his countenance was such, but not a single one of them answered him except with almost pitying looks; it wasn't necessary after all, they knew why they were there. Especially on this day, they'd have to be an idiot not to know why. 

Seto, Marik, Malik, Bakura, Serenity Isis were all standing at the front of large, iron gates and hesitating around the entrance on the morning of that not really autumn but not quite winter day, not going in but not leaving. With the exception of Isis, their expressions were dark and distracted, haunted with painful and terrifying memories each time they glanced up at the house and it only detained them further which made it harder and harder for them to go in.

Like it had been before, Seto leaned against the iron gates and then nodded towards the others with a grim look on his otherwise cool face. "Let's stop wasting time, we need to go in." The rest of the group looked up and nodded before going in as a small little mob. Their expressions were pained but they went in, nevertheless and continued on the stone path, the path that hadn't changed even though it had been a year surely, when they had walked it like this last. The stone was still rough and unpolished but devoid of marks and the path was still traced by the weeds that had overrun the once green lawn. Biting winds came flying down at them and nipped at their noses and cheeks mercilessly and they shuddered.

Everyone's faces grew more and more somber from the unwilling expressions that they'd had before as they approached until finally, at long last, they reached the heavy door. The group looked around at one another, and then nodded towards Bakura, who sighing, removed a key from his neck and placed it into the keyhole and turned it before pushing the door open. The door opened with a thin, high pitched creak while swinging in to present a large hallway with a living room right next to it. Everything was finely layered with dust and when they walked in, they left their shoe marks imprinted in the grayed wooden floor.

After the last one of them had filed in which was once more Serenity, they left the door wide open and propped it as it was with a brick that they'd brought with them. They didn't want the door to be closing on them again…they never wanted that door to close while they were inside ever again.

After they made their way into the empty and uninviting house, they were still for a moment in the middle of the hallway, and it looked as if they were going to go their separate ways…but then they decided against it and stuck together but didn't move. It was better that way…there was no telling what might happen when one of them went off on their own. It was the best thing for their sanity if they managed to stay together so that they could be comforted and feel at least a little safe.

They continued to stand still, not knowing where to go, what to do, or where to go…until Bakura finally broke the silence with a sharp 'Fuck it!' and stormed into the living room and sat himself down on the gray carpet of dust. No one said anything about his strange behavior since they knew that out of all of them, it was he that had suffered the most severe of repercussions because of what had happened in this house. The rest of them slowly followed suit and soon all of them were sitting on the floor somewhere, leaning forward or against a sheet covered couch and everyone had lapsed into silence once more like quicksand, disturbed by a commotion for only a moment.

Finally it was Isis who spoke and split the heavy silence, a gentle and warm knife in the heavy butter of stillness. "I wasn't here to know everything that took place…" She said gently, taking her brother's hand and holding it between her own warm ones comfortingly. "Would you please tell me?" The others glanced at each other with almost pained looks, then at Bakura who just shrugged and then looked back down at the ground.

"There were more of us back then." Serenity said first, her arms tightly holding her knees to her chest. Her grip on her triceps were strong as if she didn't trust herself to speak without them and she blinked almost furiously. Her reddish brown hair was cut to her shoulders, compared to how long it had used to be. "There was me, Joey, Tea, Tristan, Duke, Mai, Yugi Yami, Marik, Malik, Seto, Bakura, and of course…Ryou. We didn't think we'd be here that long." The silence grew again as they began to remember…

"_Well, looky here. Kaiba's here ta crash da party again." Joey fairly spat out, his expression clearly showing the dislike he had for the CEO. Kaiba only rolled his eyes, spitting out a puppy remark in return before nodding towards the others. _

_"Are all of us here?" The question was asked sharply and insistently, clearly impatient. "I need to get back to the company as soon as possible. So we're going to have to go inside, see whoever it is and then come out as soon as I can. Honestly, if they didn't have one of the files I needed, I wouldn't even bother with this." Seto shook his head, looking exasperated. _

_Jou looked like he was going to snarl something but everyone else stopped him, Tristan's hand covering his mouth and Malik yanking up beneath his shoulders. Tea slapped him across the head and yelled at him to shut his trap and then they resumed normal conditions. Yugi shook his head though and spoke, looking around carefully. _

"_Not everyone's here Kaiba, we're missing Ryou and Bakura." Yugi rubbed the back the back of his head carefully and blinked. Yami scoffed contemptuously and rolled his eyes. _

"_I don't even know why we're waiting for that tomb robber." Yami leaned back against the iron gate, his hands interlocked behind his head. Yugi turned barely narrowed eyes towards his yami and scolded him, along with Tea._

"_Yami! You're forgetting Ryou. We're waiting for him too!" Tea nodded. _

"_Ryou's our friend too you know, and it wouldn't be a good thing for us to leave him behind. And it's not like he's going to be that late!" Marik raised an eyebrow looking very…skeptical. He found it all too amusing how no one defended the tomb robber and shook his head with a little bit of a smirk on his face. Thos idiots…_

"_Sorry we're late guys!" The group turned and saw the white haired pair running towards them, one a little more enthusiastically than the other, waving their hands. Tea grinned widely and flashed Yami a sideways smile as if to say, I told you so! Ryou arrived in front of them only seconds later and bent double, gasping for breath with his hands on his knees. _

_Bakura arrived along after them, looking fairly bored and blinked at seeing everyone there. "Oh boy, everyone's here, aren't they?" He sounded less than pleased with the bit of news and crossed his arms before deciding against it and leaned his head on Ryou's shoulder. "Can we go back now Ryou?" He looked annoyed and that was a clear understatement. _

_Ryou shook his head. "Come on, we only have to go in." Yugi nodded, smiling and glanced at his yami. _

"_Hey Yami, you want to go in first?" Yami looked up slightly and shrugged nonchalantly though everyone could tell all too clearly that he wouldn't allow anyone else to go in before he did. After all, it was Yami…he always had to do things first or best and as it was impossible to go through a door _best_, he'd have to go in first. Marik snorted softly which earned him a whack on the shoulder, courtesy of Malik and Bakura blew out through his closed lips and shook his head. Meantime, Yami pushed off the wall and then walked inside the gates and headed towards the door. _

_The other followed suit but Serenity, who followed after all of them, froze as soon as she entered through the gates and shivered, her arms crossing over each other to hold her shoulders. The others looked back once they reached the door and Joey called for his sister to hurry up. When she didn't, his eyes narrowed up in worry and he called out to her again. _

"_Are you alright Serenity?" He looked like he was going to go towards his sister but the girl looked up and smiled at him weakly and shook her head at him. _

"_It's alright." She yelled towards him and smiled. "It's alright Joey, I just sort of felt…cold all of a sudden." She straightened up and started walking towards them again, though her brow was furrowed tightly and she looked worried. "It's just…I feel like something bad is going to happen." She looked a little nervous but then smiled, though she didn't look very sure of herself. "But I'm being stupid, aren't I?" _

"_Nah, it's just the atmosphere of the house." Joey reassure his sister gruffly and motioned for Yami to go in who had found the iron key hanging on the knocker. _

_Tristan and Duke nodded, almost falling over each other to agree with her brother and comfort Serenity. _

"_Yes, I suppose you're right." Serenity said as the others walked inside and she took a last glance out. "I mean, it's not like we're going to be in there for a long time…" _

Serenity took a deep breath and Bakura looked up at her through his hooded garnet eyes. "Heh, guess I didn't know what the heck we were getting ourselves into."

Small chuckles reverberated throughout the room though they were completely devoid of actual amusement. Isis raised an eyebrow and nodded. Malik looked a little sad as he stuck in his input quietly. "We thought it might be just another duelist and that we'd end up with our fairy tale ending again."

Then the laughter from everyone else faded and the hoarse laughter that came from Bakura was almost like a rough sob. "We were so _fucking_ wrong though, weren't we?"

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Yeah, not the greatest, but I think it's pretty good. At least I know what I'm doing with this. 

Please leave a review! It's very discouraging when I only get a few loyal fans...


	2. Trapped Inside

Disclaimer: Don't own YGO all you stupid peoples who think I do. If I did...yeah. I have _plans_...

But yeah. See? I got you a new chapter for Christmas! Worship me! And thank you for all your reviews...I need a better summary don't I? HELP! Please? ...

Anyways, once again, please enjoy the second chapter of _When Black Petals Fall_

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2. Trapped Inside

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Seto picked up then, shrugging and leaning back, trying to keep the rawness and emotion out of his voice and overall he did a fairly decent job, although he stumbled a little every so often and his voice shook a little bit. But for the most part, he managed to hide his emotions but it was still obvious to everyone that he was under quite a bit of stress just being under here. He'd practically had to fight Mokuba tooth and nail to keep him the hell away from here earlier that morning, and in the end he'd gotten his way. 

"We didn't realize what we were getting ourselves into really. We thought it was just going to be another one of those challengers ready to duel me and Yugi and then get their asses kicked. After that, we figured we'd get what we came for and then get the hell out." His voice shook for a second then and then he shrugged, looking normal again. "I was here to get some files and bonds to seal a contract personally with a contact of mine. We'd actually been in touch since Battle City so I never really figured it was him."

Malik nodded, then explained why he'd been there. "I was there because my Millennium Rod went missing." Marik didn't say anything, just jerked his tanned thumb at Malik to motion that his reason was exactly the same. Those who spoke and Isis turned to Serenity to hear her reason and the girl shrugged slightly, looking a little uncomfortable as she spoke.

"I went because Joey and the others were going. I know Joey was going because Yugi was going, who was going because someone stole his grandfather's Blue Eyes again." Serenity looked down, then realized that she still had to speak and she fidgeted slightly, looking at her hand in her lap and twisting her sweater at the same time. "That was why Tea and Tristan were going wasn't it? Because Yugi and Yami were going…they never actually thought a bout why they did any of their stuff, just that they did it and it would turn out okay in the end." Her voice had turned bitter at the end and she flushed and didn't speak for a little bit before stating up again. "I don't know why Mai came…I just know that she did because of Joey. She felt sort of like I did…that something was wrong. And because of her harpy ladies…they went missing. You know she loves-" She broke off and a strangled sound escaped from her throat and she looked as if she was going to choke for a moment. "She loved them so much."

Bakura didn't say anything, just kept staring at the ground, his eyes wide and all absorbing but not comprehending. It wasn't known whether he was trying to block them out, or whether he was pretending not to listen. But he surely felt the combined efforts of the others, forcing a multicolored stare his way and he shifted slightly but he didn't look up and no one spoke, unsure whether or not to provoke Bakura to speech. It seemed Isis had not enough qualms to hesitate so much and went through, looking grim.

"And you Bakura?"

Bakura raised his head, looking weary and a dry smile split his face. He looked a mess; they hadn't noticed it before since he'd always been looking down and his hair in the way, but really…he looked just awful right now. His eyes were lined with black bags and his once tanned, then pale skin, was now ashen and his bones even more sharply accentuated than before, making him look as if he were in the process of becoming a mummy. His eyes weren't as dead as the rest of them, but they were still a little deadened, with hints of resignation.

"Me?" He looked all too amused as he spoke in his dry rasping voice. He laughed a short and harsh bark of a laugh and leaned back. "You know damn well why I went." He looked at the others through suddenly narrowed and almost accusatory eyes. "Well? Don't you?" He laughed again and looked down again. "I went because he went. I was supposed to protect him." Bakura laughed quietly, as if he was suddenly alone and leaned back against the sofa, his face turned upwards as he laughed. ""Protect him? _Protect him?_ **_Protect him?" _**For a moment, his face twisted in an ugly fashion and a funny expression crossed his face. "Fucking bullshit." And then he stopped talking again, finding the ground interesting again.

"It was this room, wasn't it?" Serenity nodded absent mindedly to Marik's question.

"We were in that hallway when we realized…"

_Serenity stepped into the hallway, through the door and caught up with the rest of them and smiled a tense smile, looking around nervously. They were standing in a long hallway with a well polished, clean wooden floor that creaked only a little bit as they stepped on the floor. The hallway opened up obviously to an open hallway with a ruby colored carpet and then everything else was closed off and only open to the others by doors. _

_There was also a large staircase close to where the entrance hall which was also wood and with a sapphire colored covering on the stairs with diamond designs weaving around each other intricately so that it seemed almost a shame to step on them. _

"_So, where the hell were we supposed ta meet this guy anyways Yami, Yug'?" The two spiky headed people turned towards Joey and then blinked at each other with a strange expression on their faces. _

"_Eh…I'm really no-" _

_BANG!_

_Before they could finish speaking, a slam was heard throughout the house, so that it seemed that everything was shaking for a moment and it felt like things were falling. They covered their heads and would have been silenced had it not been for the loud yells that were expressed and then everything was silent for a second and then another slam hit and everything went dark. _

_When their eyes adjusted a little to the dark, they realized they could still see a little and their eyes narrowed to see better but there was no need. In about two or three minutes fluorescent lights turned on and there were slight whimpers and shouts as the sudden light overtook their senses. _

_When nothing more happened, they felt better but then they absorbed the unforgiving reality…and wished that they had never entered. The shutters were all closed tightly suddenly and the door had slammed shut. Everyone looked taken aback but it was Marik, Bakura, and Seto who got it first and then Joey then Yami and Yugi. With a shout, Mark and Bakura both went for the door, slamming into it with their shoulders and Seto went for the windows. Joey went for the windows on the other side as did Yami and Yugi on the other side. The girls immediately raced up the stairs to check on the windows and balconies up there and the other two hikaris did the same, thinking just one step more. _

_After several minutes of trying to break through, nothing happened. With a despairing cry, the group regathered in the living room, hands on knees and bent over, trying to breathe properly. _

"_They're locked up way too tightly." Bakura said quietly, his voice hoarse like always and he narrowed his eyes and glanced at the ones that had gone upstairs. "You guys didn't find an exit or anything, did you?" Malik shook his head and looked halfway annoyed. _

"_Stupid question Bakura, if we had, we wouldn't be here, would we?" Bakura leaned over and smacked the blonde across the head. Bakura shook his head and scowled and leaned back again, his expression darkened. _

"_You idiot. It was a rhetorical question. So now how the hell are we supposed to get out?" Seto pulled out his laptop from his briefcase that he carried around everywhere and activated it quickly, placing it on his lap as he took a seat on the ground, his brow furrowed a little bit as his hands began to move over the keyboard. He looked furious as he continued and then his eyes widened, and he cursed heavily under his breath as he continued to type. "No…no, that's not…that's…" _

_He looked up with a worried and uneasy expression and the others looked at him. "It's almost stupid to try to get out…" Seto stated quietly. "This guy…I don't know if he's a mastermind or not, but he knows how to trap us." He scowled. "The doors are enforced from the inside with iron and lead as well as titanium…fire won't help us there. Same with the windows, the windows are bulletproof, the shutters the same as the doors. Thing is, maybe we could still get out if we can but thing is, this whole place is tripped out with lasers outside of all the exits so we couldn't get out with being fried to a crisp." _

"_Well, couldn't we figure out the source and cut it there?" Marik asked, his jaw muscles working furiously but strangely enough seemed calm outwardly. _

_Seto shook his head almost regrettably and crossed his arms and leaned back discontentedly. "See the thing is we could, if the lasers power source wasn't so conveniently attached to something outside." _

"_Well, isn't there a way you could hack into the system and kill it?" Ryou suggested, though he looked doubtful. _

"_No. There's too many systems blended into one and it's encrypted to some kind of code that I can't understand." Seto cracked his knuckles before returning his hands to the keyboard. "And don't get started on that, so the great Kaiba can't do this shit mutt. I'd like to see you try to do this…or your pathetic little genius friend." Kaiba cast a warning glare, his blue eyes narrowed as he glanced to the side where Jou was standing, his mouth halfway open. Then he returned his gaze to the screen in front of him. "I could crack it…but it would take me a while." Something in his temple clicked and he glared at the screen accusingly before continuing again. "There must be at least a hundred different codes piled on one another…" He trailed off for a moment before continuing. "And each code will take an indeterminable amount of time. This person was planning this for a _very _long time." _

_He closed the lid of his laptop, revealing the Kaiba Corporations logo on the lid and stood up after placing the laptop back in its briefcase and stood, brushing himself off. "Not to mention that there's something interfering with the connection I've got so I can't get contact with the outside. And this is private property so no one can enter without being in trouble with the law." _

"_So pretty much, we can't get the fuck out, and no one can get the hell in." Bakura summarized brutally, his fists clenching tightly. Ryou looked as if he wanted to smack Bakura but thought the better of it and kept his hands in his coat pockets for the time being. _

"_And someone's obviously been planning this for about a year at least…which means we don't know what the hell they have in store for us. But whatever it is, it's not good." Yami said quietly, crimson eyes furious. "So does this mean that they're here with us, or that they've got a decoy in here?" _

"_That's the problem." Seto looked exhausted and leaned back in his chair with a cool expression on his face. "We have no idea." _

_Joey, Tristan, and Tea looked towards Yami desperately. "Can't ya just bust outta here with yer Shadow powers or somethin' Yami?" The blonde ran his hand through his hair with a troubled expression and glanced at his sister worriedly. _

"_No." The quintet, Yugi, Yami, Joey, Tea, and Tristan, all looked towards the source of the duo with strange looks, taken aback and then blinked at seeing who had spoken. Bakura and Malik looked up and shrugged, their expressions strange. "We know how to use shadow magic better than Mr.-I-Forgot-My-Memories, remember?" Yami glared sullenly. _

"_Hey, I got my memories back, remember!" Bakura scoffed and rolled his eyes. _

"_Don't be stupid. Even if you managed to get all your memories back, you didn't regain the experience you lost in the time you didn't know." Bakura grinned smugly and then returned back to the topic. "They've got everything planned out. There's something that completely nullifies Shadow magic out there. I haven't run into it too often, but it's just the way it is. I can't do anything about it and neither can you Pharaoh Idiot since you don't know how to do anything And Marik can't do _anything_, since he's missing his Rod. And the hikaris don't have what it takes since their power isn't as offensive as ours."_

"_So basically we have to wait out whatever it is before we try to get out?" _

"_Exactly." _

"_Well…_SHIT."

"We took that piece of news pretty well didn't we?" Malik asked weakly and shook his head and his sister only gripped him hand and squeezed a little bit reassuringly. Her expression was serene and she listened patiently with the air of someone who had no desire to do anything else but listen.

"I'm surprised none of us passed out." Serenity said softly, with a slight smile on her face. "None of us screamed or anything like in those horror movies. We didn't just start going hysterical either…I don't even think we panicked for a little while, we were expecting things to end up okay…It didn't take us more than a day or two to realize that things would never be all right."

"But still, those idiots held onto their foolish, desperate hope and relied on luck. _LUCK."_ Seto scoffed contemptuously and shook his head. "Did they think luck was going to guide them through everything? Sooner or later…their luck would have to run out. Their luck was down into the negatives when we went into that house and someone was going to have to pay the price."

Bakura scoffed from where he was, his head still leaning against his knee. "Yeah…and for once in their miserable life, they didn't have anyone to do it for them." His smile was dry and wicked underneath his hair and he looked half mad for a moment. "They didn't have any sacrifices that were willing to give themselves up this time. For once, the thrice be damned 'Heart of the Cards' wasn't going to come through for them because this wasn't about a duel." The white haired thief laughed callously where he was, then quieted, seemingly subdued. "Dear Ra…they couldn't understand what was going on in there because they couldn't control anything. Instead of being a player…they were only pieces in a one person game of chess."

The other regarded Bakura with carefully indifferent expressions before nodding gravely.

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Yeah...review? Again? 


	3. Their Sins

Ha! It's finally out...took damn long enough. Anyway, once more, I'm very sorry for the long wait and even sorrier for this sad product that is the result of your waiting. I don't think it's ever been harder to actually finish a chapter for me...hmm. Well, anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I have no rights to YGO. I can't quite recall their name at the moment, but whoever it is owns it since I'm not even Japanese.

Warnings: I don't believe this is necessary as I suck at writing gore and such, but still. There will contain scenes and references to rape, abuse, killing, drugs, homosexuality, just pure psychoness, some OOC-ness on their part as I'm guessing to what their reactions would be like in these kinds of situations, and lessee...desecrated bodies, etc.This chapter will also be a bit AU as I'm creating past situations for them that aren't really canon.

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"None of us have ever had pasts that we were proud of. None of us at all, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. But some of them were and they were so shaken when they realized that other people knew." Seto snorted softly, shaking his head before leaning back and staring up at the high arched ceiling. "Can you imagine how pissed off they were when they figured out that now, all the rest of us knew?"

"Oh god, that was funny. None of us even imagined what that 'golden group' had done." Only the hint of an underlying high pitched giggle showed exactly how tense Malik's nerves were. "They changed everything and cornered me and Marik, didn't they Marik? Me and you…" Marik gripped Malik's forearm tightly, his fingers making little indents into the bronzed flesh though it wasn't meant to cause pain.

"Mmm…it's over. Don't worry about it so much." Uncharacteristic of the normally half crazed yami, but things were different now and it was obvious in the very way they acted, the way they spoke, the way they clung to some things and rejected others with a vengeance. No one said anything about it though, for fear of provoking even worse nightmares and terrors that could not be driven away, would not leave on their own. "We aren't the only ones they targeted after all." He cast Bakura a sideways glance through heavily kohl lined eyes before concentrating his dark, sober eyes upon his slighter counterpart.

Bakura raised a contemptuous eyebrow and exhaled slowly, as if exhaling a breath of smoke, once more facing the ground. "Are you by any chance talking about me?" His accusation was drawled out, almost spat out, lazy. "How kind of you to remember. They targeted me too, I remember. I'm betting I remember even better than you. Thief! Murderer! Soulless! _Bastards…_"

"Bakura." Serenity's words were soft spoken, pleading in nature and Bakura lifted his face again, his eyes glossed over as he looked at her, looked _through _her, seeing something else entirely before things snapped back into focus...and he relaxed again. His muscles unknotted and with another slow exhalation, all the anger and frustration seemed to drain out of him, leaving behind a shadow again.

_**So you did come, every single one of you. Thanks so very much for making my life so much easier. **__At the voice, everyone started violently, Yugi, Serenity, Tea, and Ryou freezing in what was obviously surprise and almost fear while all the others jumped to their feet and looked around, some of them already in a fighting stance. These would include Joey, Tristan, and Malik, though Bakura and Marik stood in a way that hinted that at any kind of false movement, any unnecessary presence that they wouldn't hesitate to attack. Likewise, Mai held her purse close to her, ready to throw it out if the need for it arose. Her nails looked pretty menacing too. The strange voice sounded entertained as it spoke again. __**No need to be so surprised, what did you expect when you came in here? Some sort of celebration? And no need to look so tense, relax, take a seat. I'm not going to hurt you. Right now anyway. So relax. No? Suit yourself. **_

_Yami's voice rang out like it always did, deep, strong, and powerful as it resonated throughout the room. "Show yourself!" He demanded, bringing himself up to his full height which everyone had to admit wasn't really that much. Everyone politely pretended not to notice this flaw in the otherwise impressive show._

_**What, too afraid to face an enemy you can't see? Aww, poor wittle pharaoh. Guess he has to grow up and face the real world, won't he? After all, it's not as if you can order me around like a lowly serf. **__A low, mocking laugh chased the echoes of Yami's voice around the room until they completely drowned him out and the only voice ringing in their rooms was laughter. Not cliched, evil laughter. Oh no, in fact, this voice actually sounded quite pleasant. Almost soothing despite the fact that it obviously carried some menacing intent. _

_As for the current target of the voice's attention, the look on Yami's face would have been priceless if the situation hadn't been so precarious. As it was, his face flushed slightly and his voice rose in pitch just a hair as he yelled right back. "Face the real world? Hah! You don't know me at all then. I-" _

_**You've won Battle City, beat the maker of Duel Monsters at his own game, played numerous shadow games and won, beat the Orichalcos, won several other tournaments, saved the world from impending doom, blah blah blah. Honestly, can't you think of anything more **_**interesting? **_**It has got to be annoying saying the same things over and over again. **__Oh, if the look on Yami's face had been priceless before, there were no words to describe the humiliated, furious face of the three thousand year old pharaoh now. If he hadn't had the good grace to keep his mouth shut, it was probable that he would have been blathering like an idiot. _

_**That honestly doesn't matter to me though, you see. I don't care about all those things you've won, I care about the other kind of things you've done. Like, hmm…I don't know. Maybe ritual sacrifices of actual people? Serve your own purpose so sacrifice a few innocent souls that could've been saved? Or maybe that's not enough, maybe completely damning some souls that could've been redeemed? Driving a few too many people to the loony bin? I don't know, those were just at the top of my head. I'm so terribly sorry if I forgot any…please don't hesitate to remind me of any I missed. **_

_Gaping like an oversized fish, Yami was speechless and furious while his mouth flopped open as he tried to speak but thankfully Yugi intervened, violet eyes flashing and his lips set in an uncharacteristically hard line, giving Yami time to recover. "How can you blame him for something he completely forgot? With all your bountiful knowledge, I'd think you'd know that he had amnesia! You can't judge him for things he's done in the past, he's not the same person anymore, he's __**changed.**__" _

_**Oh? Does he still have amnesia little one? I don't think so. After all, he committed most of those crimes when he was with you. And thank you for drawing my attention little one. Let's see, what have you done? Oh my, I'd wondered how your grandfather's miserly little shop managed to be so successful in such a large industrial town. I'd wondered how it stayed the only business of its kind where it was. **__The implications of what the recorded voice was saying was all too obvious and thoroughly shut the star headed puzzle bearer up, leaving him in a state that mimicked Yami. Of course, this proved to be not enough as the Voice simply pressed forward. __**Why, I hear that the others who tried to set up a business like that found themselves frightened for their life and family. I hear their place was a target for vandalism, harassment over the phone, threats posted and ransacking? Who would've thought such a small, innocent looking star headed runt could do such things? But I guess you would know, being bullied all your life. Maybe you saw a way you could strike back? **_

No way. _Was all that went through anyone's mind. This voice, this person or whatever it was, it was merciless in the cold efficiency it went about uncovering the truths. The first thoughts that came up had been, _It has got to be a lie, _but the reactions it received was dispelling doubt quite rapidly. It didn't care that it would hurt them and that it was bringing up old scars, it was determined to uncover every dirty little secret that they thought that they'd hidden, never to see the light of day again. Obviously they'd been sorely mistaken and each were hoping that they wouldn't be next. Well…most of them anyway. There were always the few, amazingly brave, amazingly stupid that spoke up. _

"_Alright, tell me. What the hell did I do to get my ass landed in this hell hole, huh?" Bakura stepped up to the figurative plate, his arms crossed lazily, an equally lazy and challenging grin quirking his lips. The voice was undaunted though, and it continued on. _

_**What am I supposed to tell you Bakura? That you killed hundreds of people and stole from thousands more? No, you know all this already, you've accepted this. You're proud of this. You remember though, I hope, the burning of Kuru Eruna though I'm sure you can't forget and you remember that you're pathetic. Do you remember seeing everyone die without helping a single one. Your mother raped, killed. Your father tortured, massacred. Your friends raped, tortured, humiliated, murdered. The shells of their bodies desecrated. All I can make you remember is what you've seen, not what you've done. Oh, yes I can. What did you do? You ran. Like a **_**coward. **_**Completely shatters your fearsome reputation, doesn't it?" **_

_Only the slight tightening of Bakura's jaw indicated that he was bothered by anything that had been said. He refused to stay silent though, his expression hard. "I ran to survive." His gaze was still challenging and he refused to be overwhelmed. "You go into my situation and you…_you _tell me that you wouldn't have done anything to survive." But the voice had already moved on, no longer interested in anything Bakura had to say, which of course, infuriated Bakura even more._

_**Remember the day it rained little white haired one? Remember the screeching of tires on slick asphalt and blood? Oh, there was so much blood, so many screams and tears that time, of course you remember. Sweet Amane clinging to your little hand with all the dying strength she had, begging you not to let her die and you promised, didn't you? Oh you promised her, promised her that you wouldn't. But where is she now little Ryou? Why is she not here or waiting for you at home? Why is she, instead, waiting for you to join her in a cold, dank grave?**__**Why did you give her the killing stroke? You let her bleed to death and you were holding her hand. She was dying…and you were silent. You could have saved her if you just called out...but she died. She was suffering and she looked like that rabbit you had, didn't she? So you did what you remembered...the crack of her neck was so quiet...**_

_Ryou fairly collapsed, clinging to the banister of the stairs almost desperately, holding onto it for what seemed to be dear life, his knuckles turning a ghostly white. "Please…" His whisper was light and thin, high pitched while he was shaking his head as what blood that was in his face drained out. "Please don't…" But by then, the voice had already moved on, it's target no longer him. The voice's new target inhaled sharply, violet eyes dilated, pupils becoming small dots and threatening to become nothing more in a vast sea of purple when he heard it. _

_**You killed your father Malik. **_

_Marik shook his head with a definitive sigh, placing his relatively large hand on Malik's comparatively small shoulder. "Malik killed no one. I killed his father and if you know him as well as you claim to know us, you know that perfectly well. Soft, familiar laughter echoed throughout the walls again, still that grating sound that pierced through all attempts to block it out. _

_**But still, despite that, he killed his father. You created Marik out of anger, Malik, out of the wish to kill your father. You brought about the one that killed your father, so you killed your father. And besides that, how about all of those peoples, whose lives you destroyed because of your little group. But you destroyed lives, caused such trouble…**_

_**Then again, it's all your yami's fault too, isn't it? Almost destroying the world, only hurting the one whom you were **_**required **_**to protect. Of course, then again, it's not like your yami had the leisure to do anything else. Trapped as it was back you know. But then again, you have no right at all to blame Marik. After all Malik…you **_**are **_**your yami.**_

_Marik's bronze skin blotched. It was as if he wasn't sure whether to go white, or whether he should simply turn an embarrassed scarlet and also the memory of something dangerously pleasant that was playing in his mind. And then anger and shame rose up, drowning everything else out. "Nothing happened." He hissed, pain emphasized in every word as he settled for merely flushing a deep, unflattering red that made his skin look mottled with bruises. _

_**She was the first you ever saw, wasn't it? And possibly even the last…what a shame. But still, what a glorious sight to see. She was beautiful when she was crying, screaming for help. No one should have heard but you did, didn't you? And you watched, fascinated by the way she moved? The way the candlelight gleamed on her perfect skin? You never told Malik did you? At least you have some sort of shame…**_

_**But so terribly sorry Marik, this is a time of no secrets. It was just a one time thing after all, wasn't it? Oh wait, no it wasn't. Your ears learned to hear for the footsteps that meant things would happen again, didn't you? And after it was all, finally, over, you dared to go in one night…she screamed…and you comforted her, just to know what it felt like. Selfish even when noble…do you remember how it felt? Oh Marik…you never told Malik that you saw Isis raped. **_

_Hell broke loose then, Malik's eyes rolling back and he passed out, unable to take in what he'd just heard. _

"What?" Isis paled, and her eyes flicked over to Marik in disbelief. Her cheeks looked fairly similar to what Marik had looked like when confronted with this, embarrassed and frightened. Her cheeks were flushed a deep scarlet, though she looked somehow drained of confidence and life, everything that made her seem like Isis. "When? It-"

"It's true Isis." Marik was determinedly _not _looking at Isis, looking anywhere but at her. At the moment, he was admiring the lovely eaves on the ceiling and was planning to gaze at the fine woodwork on the frame of the mirror behind Bakura's head in a moment. "I saw everything. It was before Malik even knew I existed."

"So it is true…" The teen sounded like a young boy who just lost something precious, hollow and defeated and his eyes died just a little bit more if that could be possible and his shoulders slumped into his lap. He looked down at his hands and Marik made no effort to comfort him, to explain. It would be useless after all. They all knew that it was impossible to ask for any kind of forgiveness at this point in time.

But Isis didn't give up. "Malik, I-"

"Why didn't you trust me? Why couldn't you at least tell me?" But Isis was responding to Malik's frustration, gaining strength by feeding off of Malik fighting back and when she spoke, it was with an underlying heat of despairing anger.

"What was I _supposed _to say Malik?" She never gave him a chance to answer, plunging in recklessly. She never even realized that the tears were beginning to form in her eyes, or that she was diving into waters that she'd never tread before. "Tell me, what would you have done? Should I have said, By the way Malik, did you know that dad took my virginity. Whoops. Forgot that you didn't know what those words mean yet. Maybe, he's been rap-oh dear. You don't know those words either." She shook her head, blinking furiously. "Forgive me if I was trying to _protect _you. Try to keep you innocent for just a second longer…"

Marik remained silent for a moment longer but when he felt Isis's eyes had wandered enough and were probably safely in her lap again, he glanced at her, looking apologetic but also just a little bit longing. And then when he saw green eyes blazing back at him, his cheeks burned and he tried to look away…but couldn't. He was still looking at her when Seto picked up.

"_**You've cheated. You've done everything to get your way, haven't even stopped short at murder." **_

"_Was I supposed to do something else? No, don't answer, stop right there, I'll save you the trouble and tell you everything myself. I've killed, I admit it. I've manipulated, I've used people more times than I care to remember, I've ruined people, destroyed people's lives, and wow, I've done so much to people that I'm probably subhuman. Everyone _hates _me. But I don't care. I'm respected, I'm not dirt poor, Mokuba's alive and he hasn't been hurt by anyone else other than me." Seto shrugged. "Move on, I'm already wasting time like this." _

"_**Very good Seto…but who was Kisara?" **__And with that, the voice moved on as Seto tensed. __**"Strong hands Joey. They are strong aren't they? Only strong hands could have taken so many lives, spilt so much blood. How many people are missing a parent, a sibling, a brother, sister? Better yet…how many people are missing completely? I'm afraid that you yourself. you're not worth nearly enough to pay for all those lives. What a pity, we'll just have to be more brutal later. Of course, that's you as well, isn't it Tristan? Always the little lapdog, best friend of Joey. Oh, what's this? **__A small chuckle crackled over the intercom, obviously the only one amused by anything that was happening. __**"Serenity doesn't know? Oh, how could you keep such a thing from her?"**_

_As it was, Serenity was staring at her brother and Tristan with something akin to horror. "...Joey, what? It's not true. It's not, it can't be right?" _

_"It's not true 'Ren. A'ight? Don't believe some stupid voice thing, listen to me. I'm always lookin' out for you, Ren. Ya know that, right?" Serenity didn't look convinced, although she was desperately trying to convince herself that her brother was telling the truth. Her brother wouldn't do something like this. Tristan wasn't like this. They were brave, they'd never hurt anyone weaker than them, they were honorable. But still..._

_**"Oh...the truth hurts so much. You just can't handle it, can you? But very well, I'm done with you. You're not worth my time anymore. That I have to waste my time on such trash." **__There was a clicking noise from the intercom."__**But...Serenity. How are you?" **__Obviously, it didn't wait for an answer. That would just be anticlimatic and somewhat stupid...supposedly everything the voice was turning out not to be. "__**I suppose this might not be entirely your fault, but it sort of is. Drug dealing, wasn't it Serenity dear? I mean, it's not even as if you did it willingly. Blackmail after all, after having sex with that, er, Damien was it? But of course, you were drunk then, weren't you? And then he blackmailed you with it into dealing it for him. You got so deep, it's a miracle you got out. Of course, the only way to do it was by eliminating the problem. And the problem was Damien. It would never have occured to you if he hadn't tried to fuck you in your home, would it? The shotgun was right there, the temptation so strong...it won out in the end. You claimed self defense, and maybe it was. But you knew he wouldn't have screwed you if you'd just said no. But I suppose killer instinct runs in the family." **__Serenity shook her head desperately, looking horrified. For her, it seemed that she actually didn't believe any of it. As if the Voice really was lying. _

_**"You suppressed your memories then Serenity? You'll remember soon enough. What a pity, you were so young too, what a Shame. Or in your case, Duke Devlin...what a powerful lack of shame you have. You were just one of many that competed for Pegasus' attentions. You drove the others away, didn't you?" **_

_Duke shrugged. "And if I did? It's the business world as I'm sure Kaiba can tell you." _

_**"Ah, but it was h ow you drove them away. You've always had a reputation as a player and you slept with all the other's wives, didn't you? And then you destroyed all those poor, innocent women-though they really should have been smarter- so that they would distract their husbands. And the female competitors? ...you sicken me Devlin. You had them raped, beaten, half murdered. You've no dignity, no pride at all. You utter, incompetent, pathetic fool! And your own girlfriend, the one you claimed to love, the one who'd do anything for you...you threw that precious girl away. Drove her half mad. " **_

_Tea said nothing, just looked away. She refused to say anything, afraid that she would say the wrong thing...again. She just wanted to become invisible right now. didn't want anyone to notice her ever again. She looked around briefly at the others, a strange flush coming over her suddenly pale face, and looked away. When she spoke, she said it in her own defeated sort of way. "That's enough. I got it."  
_

_"__**It wasn't enough at the moment back then though, was it? It was just supposed to be payback, right? Nothing serious..." **__There was no response from Tea. Only more tears. More silver streaks making their way down her pale, drawn face, eyes cast down, ashamed to look anyone in the eye. She seemed to be one of the only ones that accepted what she'd been told, that wasn't protesting. It was a posture of utter defeat. _

_"__**Mai. Beautiful, beautiful Mai. Seductive Mai...Murderous Mai. You were a hostess of sorts, weren't you? A modern day geisha I suppose. Just follow the rich men around and do what they tell you to, and you make big money. But you would never lower your self to prostitution. Oh no, not strong, virtuous Mai. But what happened when a guy tried to cop a little bit more than a feel? When he actually kissed you? A kick would have been enough I think, or you could have screamed. But oh no. No, you opted to stab him instead. Not just once as would be self defense, but repeatedly. Even when he stopped moving...of course, trauma. But you still had the state of mind to take the money from his wallet, didn't you?" **__Mai's violet eyes widened as her cheeks took on a determinedly pink hue. _

_"Enough of that." Was all she said, fairly calm compared to other more violent reactions. Of course, it was obvious she was anything _but _calm, as her chest was heaving as if she'd just run a marathon, struggling to breathe. __**"**__I think you've done enough damage for now. No more tonight." Then as an afterthought, "Please." It would have been almost funny if the situation wasn't so grave. _

_The voice was amused though. That made one of them. "__**Please? Why not. I'll give you a break for tonight...a boon of sorts for your suffering, so relax. Nothing'll happen to you tonight. No guarantees on tomorrow though. Toodles, all of you." **__With a final crackling of static, the voice simply faded out, leaving a stunned room in its wake. _

"Of course, how the hell were we supposed to relax after that? I mean, we were all freaking out after that. We couldn't comprehend how any of this could have happened to us. But we adjusted. We tried to go on, survive. But of course, as you see now...we couldn't. Not all of us could live."

"Hey, Isis?" Ishizu looked at Bakura, thankful for any opportunity to avoid Marik's intense gaze. "Ne, Isis. Isn't there something that says, if it doesn't kill you, it'll just make you stronger?"

"Yes, there is something like that." What was Bakura blathering on about now? At least he seemed to be sane right now. Tired, but sane.

"Then why haven't I healed? Why haven't I grown stronger? Why is this tearing us all apart? Even _now?" _If Isis had thought Marik's gaze was intense, she had no words for Bakura's hard, concentrated ruby stare. She just shrugged helplessly, unable to give a proper answer.

Marik's gaze broke then and he looked almost shamed as he answered quietly, with no hint that he had ever been insane in his voice. "Because Bakura, isn't it obvious? It did kill us. We're living corpses, that's all."


End file.
